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Technology Stocks : Ballard Power -world leader zero-emission PEM fuel cells -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Cascade Berry who wrote (1428)	12/16/1997 9:38:00 PM
From: rdww	Respond to of 5827

hope that this is not an old question - patent ? how many ? run out when ? is this technology all Ballard's or did they pick it up from someone else? I heard that GE had origianlly started work on hydrogen theory. Thanks

To: Cascade Berry who wrote (1428)	12/16/1997 10:51:00 PM
From: Bill Jackson	Respond to of 5827

Cascade Berry. In time you will be able to use gas for electricity at home and free yourself from the electricity lines. The fuel cell has the potential to bypass many of the combustion engine efficiency losses(carnot stuff). It remains to be seen if they can make it small and long lived. Do not forget that a gas engine with a life of 3000 hours is 150,000 miles and that can be 5-10 years. Batteries die in 2-3 years, and fuel cells lose power even faster. Most of the research goes into cutting the amounts of catalysts and increasing the life to 50% power out put. It is expected that a life of three to five years before power has falllen to 50% of new is the minimum acceptable range. Does anyone know how the ballard fuel cells stack up in this regard? Any shift will take place over the next 30-50 years with fuel cells inexorably getting better and taking share, working their way down the flashlight batteries in time, but occupying the large uses first, such as busses, stationary power cells etc. Bill